419 scam: "atmdepartment" <atmdepartment@eq3sf.com> I am in need of your assistance

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

Home

About Us

Spam

419/Nigeria

Fraud

Contact

"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.

Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.

Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- susanwilliams_2007@rediffmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "atmdepartment" <atmdepartment@eq3sf.com>
Reply-To: susanwilliams_2007@rediffmail.com
Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:40:03 -0400
Subject: I am in need of your assistance

Dear Friend in Christ,

I am in need of your assistance, I want to make a donation to the poor and
needy through you. My name is Susan Williams, A Uk citizen, I live in Dubai
Abudabiu, right now i am in the hospital, I have been undergoing treatment for
oesophageal cancer.

I have since lost my ability to talk and my Doctors have told me that I have
only a few months to live. Before I became ill, I kept USd$ 7.5 Million in a
long-term deposit account in a bank. Now that it is clear that i will not
survive this sickness, I have decided that i must give my wealth to the poor
and needy just for assistance.

Mostly if you can donate to motherless, widows and hurricane victims I will
highly appreciate.

Kindly reply me via this email: susanwilliams_2007@rediffmail.com

Yours sincerely,

Susan Williams

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam